Shiver
by Zelda Zealot
Summary: Do you know of that feeling you get when you know someone is behind you? That shiver running down your spine? That tingling sensation on your lower back?


Prologue

I arrived in Cyrodiil late into the evening, and had to hike even longer to reach the first settlement I could find, The Imperial Bridge Inn, with little more then the shirt on my back, and the sword in my hand. Here in Cyrodiil I was nameless, in Vvardenfell however, I they called me the Nerevarine.

I have left Morrowind in an attempt to start a new, humble life, away from the worship, away from the awe, shock, and, in some cases, hatred. I could not even walk down to the local general goods store to buy breakfast without several people dropping to their knees in reverence. Therefore, I decided to leave. I would lock-up my house, say good-bye to my friends, and leave Morrowind for the first and last time.

As I said previously, it was late when I finally arrived in Cyrodiil, and even later when I collapsed onto one of the benches in front of the nearest inn. The moons were high in the sky, and even the birds had stopped chirping for the night. Doubtless, the proprietor of the establishment had already settled down for the evening, and was off exploring new lands in their dreams. Therefore, I opted to just lie down on the bench for the night, and rent a room in the morning. Besides, I doubt I had the energy to tear myself off this bench.

"_Who is he?"_

_**Why do they not know who I am?**_

"_I do not know; he looks vaguely familiar though…"_

**_Everyone knows me; they worship me…_**

"_Awful nice of him to sleep out here instead of waking me to rent a room."_

**_I know I am awful, please do not remind me._**

"_Maybe he was delirious and did not know this was an inn."_

**_In where? In here?_**

"_Oh, don't be so mean Lithy!"_

_**No! Don't send the Liches after me! Please!**_

"_Do you think we should wake him Lith?"_

**_Aw, no, do not wake the Liches; they look so peaceful._**

"_I think we should get the guard out here first, just in case."_

_**Where is this case? Where did you put it?**_

"_Oh you think everyone is either insane or heartless! What about me? Have I not taken you in here when creatures attacked your cave?_

_**How do they know about my past?**_

"_That was different…"_

_**Yes, let's put our differences aside.**_

"_And how is that?"_

_**Well we just have to ignore our differences, and talk this out.**_

"…_I have my reason to trust you, and I prefer to keep them to myself."_

_**I am so glad you Liches trust me; I don't know what I would do without you all.**_

"_Well you keep them to yourself, I, however, am going to wake him."_

_**Whom will you wake? No one is sleeping.**_

"_No Davela! Don't!"_

My eyes bolted open, and the first thing I saw was a beautiful Dunmer woman, smiling at me. Just behind her was an Altmer in a worn tan robe, standing with his arms crossed and a light glare on his face.

"Well good morning!" the Dunmer told me cheerfully.

"Is it morning already? It feels like I just lied down," I replied glumly as I sat up.

"I am afraid it is. If you would like, I could rent you a room, I just need a name and a few gold," she said, cheerful as ever.

"That's fine, I could just use some breakfast. I will get a room tonight."

"Well if you are sure. Why don't you get up and come inside, and I will get you something to eat."

Slowly I pulled my aching body off the bench, "Who is your friend?" I asked her on the way up.

"His name is Lithnilian, but we call him Lithy, less of a mouthful."

I looked at him for a moment, trying to understand why he looked to upset. Perhaps he was a distrusting fellow; maybe he did not like strangers. Nevertheless, I gave him a cheerful smile and a nod, which he did not return, and made my way over to the door following the Dunmer.

The inside of the inn was a little small, but cozy, and looked like the place you would want to snuggle up next to a roaring fire with a good book, and read away a rainy afternoon. There was bar opposite the fireplace that the Dunmer motioned me to, it was a wooden bar, but well made, and I doubt it would be falling apart anytime soon.

"So what can I get you? We have bread, soup, cheese, ham, fruit, and some rotting venison in the back, but I doubt you want that," she said without prompt.

"Just some bread and cheese thank you. What is your name? I know your friends, but yours is still a mystery," I asked her as she prepared my meal.

"Davela Hlaren, how about yours?"

I stood off my stool, gave her a short, mock bow, and told her, "Larrius Varro. At your service."

"It's nice to meet you Larrius," Davela told me. The plate clunked down on the wooden bar, loaded with my breakfast. Flashing a smile, I asked her how much I owed her.

"Oh nothing for now, you can pay me when you leave," she said. With a grin on my face, I ripped a chunk of bread in half.

"So why do you have an Inn all the way out here? It is a bit far from the road don't you think?"

"According to the Office of Imperial Commerce in the Imperial City, citizens cannot buy the land next to the road. Some kind of precaution against highwaymen; sounds like a load of Alit dung to me though," she replied followed up by a huff. Judging by the angry look on her face, she felt incredibly cheated by this "law" and I decided to discontinue the conversation.

"Well it looks as though you are doing well for yourself regardless," I told her cautiously, hoping to calm her down at least slightly.

"Why thank you Larrius, business is doing pretty good I suppose, but it would be booming if I could have just built the damn thing by the road." Lithnilian announced his presence in the room by slamming the door to the Inn, thus saving me from another attempt to cool down Davelas temper.

"Ah, there you are Lithy! I was beginning to wonder if you decided to move to another Inn; won't you have some food? You have yet to eat today," she asked Lithnilian with a mildly calm voice. Lithnilian looked at her for a moment, then at me, then right back to her. A grunt and a nod was all she got out of him, as he walked over to a table in the corner and sat down.

"Someone is really cheerful this morning," I said with a smirk.

"Oh ignore him, he is really distrusting of strangers. Doesn't like you being here," she said under her breath.

"You would think he would not be so distrusting of people, living in an Inn like he does."

"Well, he doesn't really live here all the time. He used to live in a cave while he did some research, but some monsters attacked, and forced him to come here."

"Ah, hey could I get another bit of cheese?"

It was close to noon. The sun was high in the sky, and the leaves whistling between the breeze. I was a little ways east of the Inn, floating in the river. After walking many days, and hiking over quite a few mountains, I had started to smell. Thus, I was in the river, floating near the shore, and staring at the many trees of Cyrodiil.

It had been many years since I have been in Cyrodiil, I had been caught stealing a loaf of bread as a young man, and was shipped off to the prisons of Morrowind. The official version of why I sent to the mines of Morrowind was because the prisons in Cyrodiil were full. Now, I had been in and out of prisons all across Cyrodiil in my youth, and there had always been plenty of room. I know now, why I was destined to become a miner, and it had nothing to do with lack of space. The Daedric Prince Azura had manipulated the system to get me to Morrowind, and there I had defeated Dagoth Ur. That is old news though, and an old life.

After I was satisfied with my personal cleanliness, I swam to shore. Upon gathering my clothes, I dressed myself, no sense in poking around the woods in only my skivvies after all.

I was walking up the small beach when I caught something out of the corner of my eye. Turning swiftly I saw nothing, intrigued I walked up a slope to find something I had never seen before. It was at least eight feet tall, and appeared to be solid rock. It had a red glow to it, coming out of what looked to be runes on the surface of the stone. In a circle around the rock were many smaller stones, set into the ground, and completing the majesty of the view.

Cautiously I reached out and placed my hand upon the stone…

_No stars shine upon the Doomstone._

Nothing happened. This peculiar stone simply stood there, unaware of my presence, if stones are even aware of anything that is. _Strange_, I thought to myself, _I will have to look into this another time._

The stone stayed in my thoughts all the way back to the inn.

I was stepping off the bridge across the river when I spotted him. Sitting on a second bench in front of the inn, reading. Slowly I walked up to him, when I was mere feet away from him he finally noticed me.

"Hey there Lithnilian," I said to him cheerfully. All I got in return was a glare. "Nice day huh?" Glare. "I wish I had a book to read as well, it would be so nice to just lay around all day reading, especially in this weather." Glare. _If I ever get him to talk to me I need to find out who gave him glaring lessons, they must be a real pro._ "Well I might as well head inside, get some lunch, maybe Davela has a book I can borrow." Slightly elated glare. Uneasily I walked to the door to the inn, feeling like Lithnilian was watching me all the way.

Reaching out I grabbed the handle and pulled. Nothing, the door was locked.

"Davela went to Leyawiin for supplies; she won't be back until nightfall." Turning around I found Lithnilian looking at me with an evil smirk on his face.

"Urg, so we are stuck out here?"

"Ummm humm," he responded turning back to his book.

"Well this is just great," I said to no one in particular, and sat down on the bench I had spent the previous night on.

We sat on our respective benches for a few good hours before Davela got back with her supplies in tow. During that time, Lithnilian simply read his book, casting the occasional light spell when it got dark. Eventually he put his book down and sat there relaxed and at ease, well, as much at ease as I assume he could get with me there. Nevertheless, he was content to sit there twiddling his thumbs, or what ever he preferred to do to ease the flow of time. I know this as the only thing to do was watch him, and hope he decided to overcome his apparent fear of strangers. Several times, I got up and started to move about, considering going off into the woods again to look around perhaps take another look at that weird stone, but I wanted to get into the Inn as soon as possible, and if I was out in the woods when Davela got back, I would not be able to do so. So I would pace around for a little bit, halting only when Lithnilian would turn around to look at me. Judging by the glare on his face, my constant pacing was irritating him, so, being the nice person I am, I sat back down.

"Lithy! Larrius! Did I lock you two out?"

"Oh no! We simply decided to come out here, stare at the stars and maybe get to know each other better!"

"Oh you kidder Larrius! Here, let me open the door, and then we can have some dinner."

That was me talking if you could not tell; Lithy was still pretending I did not exist as much as possible.

"Could you give me a hand here Larrius? Just put them in the backroom, I need Lithy to help me light the fire, those damn matches never work," Davela told me and Lithnilian motioning to the cart she brought with her.

"Not a problem Davela, I can handle it," I responded in turn.

During dinner I sat off in the corner, alone, but not ignored. Davela was adamant about including me in the dinner table conversation, whether I wanted to or not, much to the dismay of Lithnilian. Looking up, I saw Lithnilian lean over the table to Davela and whisper something; something that I can surely assume was about me.

"Lithy! How can you say that? He has been nothing but friendly since he got here, and you still don't trust him!"

"Of course I do not trust him! I almost never trust anyone! And if you can not accept this, could you please just leave me alone?"

"Fine, go. Your rent is due tomorrow."

Peeking up from my meal I saw Lithnilian stand up forcibly, nearly upending the table in the process. Turning away with a huff, he stormed across the room, and up the stairs. Looking over at Davela I could clearly see she was upset.

"Does this happen often?" I asked her as politely as I could.

"No, not really. You are the first person he has gotten this upset over, before he would just avoid my customers, with you he almost seems to hate you. I just don't understand him sometimes…" she replied with a sigh. I watched her for a moment longer, which turned out to be a good thing, if I had went back to my meal I would have missed the look on her face as she looked up at the ceiling, and Lithnilians general direction.

It was then that I understood, why Lithnilian was so hostile towards me, why Davela was so upset with him, and why Davela allowed Lithnilian to stay here for what I have concluded must be longer then they let on. They were longing for each other. Each was interested in the other, while completely unaware of the others feelings. If it were not so painful for them, it would have almost been funny.

With a slight smirk on my lips, I finished my meal, with a plan already swirling around in my mind.

After renting my bed for the night, I went up the stairs to sleep. I almost tripped getting my boots off, and did not bother with anything else. Not care much anymore, I threw myself down on the bed, and was asleep in moments.

_The laughing, all of the laughing, they were mocking me. But for what? What was so funny about me? Then I saw it, they were looking at the records of my life. Of what has come and what will come. Everything I have ever done and will ever do was on the scroll. They scroll they were reading with their blind eyes, the scroll they were laughing at._

_A shiver ran down my spine, the kind of shiver that only occurs when you _know_ someone is behind you. The kind of shiver you dread, for you know it isn't your imagination._

_Spinning around I saw him, waiting there, unarmed, yet more dangerous then I could imagine. I saw him, and he saw me, we looked at each other. Right into each other's eyes, in our eyes we could see something… a fight, a fight to the death. Two combatants, locked in an eternal struggle, for if one defeated the other, it was only a temporary victory, and the defeated rose again. Stronger then before, faster, wiser, and more powerful._

_It was a struggle told throughout the ages, constantly changing, changing with the times themselves. It was the struggle of good versus evil, no one was sure who was who; but they joined the struggle nevertheless, and gave their lives._

Bolting upright in a cold sweat, I knew this was not just a dream. This was something else altogether.

"I am sorry for being so rude to you these last few days." Two days had passed since I woke up on the bench out side the inn; I had helped-out around the inn for those days, doing whatever Davela needed me to do, to make some extra drakes, and to pay for my room.

"I am normally not so cold to strangers, but there was something about you…"

"I understand, you saw how Davela treated me and felt threatened."

"I… I don't know what you are talking… about…"

Lithnilian and I were sitting at a table down in the dining area of the inn. He had walked up to me as I descended the stairs, and apologized as soon as we sat down. It was strange, up to this point, he was always rude to me, but now it was if something inside him clicked, and he was kind. I doubt however, that he had decided to apologize by himself; Davela probably had a hand in it.

"Are you always this stubborn Lithnilian? I know how you feel about Davela; it is painfully obvious you know."

"What? I… All right, I will not deny it anymore. You are right Larrius, I am smitten with Davela, but I just cannot do anything about it… Besides, it is not like she feels the same way about me or anything."

If I was not the nice person I am today, I might have toyed with the two of them, making them do ridiculous things to try to get the other ones attention. Alas, I was born a nice, caring individual, and would not do that to them.

"I guaranty you that you are wrong, she very much feels the same way you do. So do not worry so much, ease up, and make this day your own." It may have sounded a bit corny to you, but for Lithnilian it worked wonders. He immediately thanked me for the advice, and went off to woo Davela. Smiling to myself, I felt quite content at that point in time, and as such, I should have known that it would not last.

There was a knock at the door.

"We're open! Come on in!" Davela shouted in the general direction of the front door. Unfortunately for her, her aim was a bit off due to her being distracted by Lithnilian, and there was a another knock at the door.

"I said we are open! You are more then welcome to come inside!" Either our new guest was deaf, or Davela had a rather weak voice, as there was a third knock at the door.

"Larrius, could you please go see who that is?" Davela asked me. Nodding, though she was probably spending all of her attention on Lithnilian at this point, I stood up off the chair next to the table Lithnilian and I had our hushed conversation at, and walked over to the door.

A forth knock.

"Hold your damn horses, I am on my way!" I told the visitor on the other side of the door. The instant my hand was on the doorknob, the wooden door exploded inward.

The bits and pieces of the door lay on the ground, sizzling with the surge of electricity that separated them. Just outside the doorway was the mage whom had cast the spell. I was on the floor, next to what remained of the door, sitting dumbfounded, back up against the wall. All this and more flew through my head and it was not until the fact that the mage was casting another spell that I came to senses.

Rolling to my left I tumbled down the short stairway, narrowly avoiding the second bolt of lightning the mage threw my way. I heard the clink-clank of armor on stone, and leapt to my feet. The armored man turned the short corner at the base of the stairs and shot me a glare as he pulled a large battle-axe off his back.

This could have been an easy fight if I had my sword with me, but, not knowing I would have heavily armed foes to deal with today, I had foolishly left if upstairs. So thus, I steeled myself for the battle to come.

It did not take long for the axe wielding man to attack, and when he did, he struck with the ferocity of an Orc. Of course, I later found out that he _was_ an Orc, but that is not the point… On the other hand, maybe it is, I do not know, I was fighting him, not quizzing him on his the point of a sentence.

The axe hit the ground with a thud, a moment after I jumped back to avoid the blow. My eyes fleeted from object to object as I searched for a weapon of any kind, and I did not want to leave Davela and Lithnilian down here alone, as I did not know just whom they were after.

My eyes locked in on a knife left on the table from last night, thank the gods Davela felt sick last night and did not clean up properly. Deftly rolling to my right, and thus dodging another swing of the axe, I grabbed the blade of the table, and went to work.

While I normally prefer a long sword, there are many advantages to using a shorter weapon. For one, swinging a huge claymore in an enclosed space is rather hazardous to all but, and sometimes including, the wielder. In addition, a shorter blade has the double advantage of being faster and much more accurate to a skilled user.

So thus, I had a quite the advantage over the Orc. Nevertheless, he had the power, and he knew how to use it.

The Orc swung again, narrowly missing my neck, and gave me the cue to strike. Ducking underneath his outstretched arms, I quickly introduced my fist with his jaw, and slid the knife between his armor.

The Orc stood there for a moment, speechless, though for an Orc this is not saying much, before I struck again. Having no need for it anymore, I dropped the bloody knife, and spun on the ball of my foot, forcing the hell of the other foot into his chest. The attacker stumbled back, crashing into the bar I later found out Davela had made by hand, and thus, according to Lithnilian, was not as sturdy as I had thought.

Cautiously, I approached the dying Orc.

"Why did you attack me?" I asked him. However, my efforts to coerce him into talking were in vain, he died with out revealing a single thing. With a sigh, I searched his body, looking for anything that might answer my questions. A letter, a writ of execution, anything. Again, my efforts were in vain, he bore no letter, no writ, nothing.

My head hung in sorrow for a moment before I remembered that my job was not yet finished. Upon telling Davela and Lithnilian to stay put, I snuck quietly to the shattered door and peeked out. Nothing, the mage was gone. I searched the immediate area before I was satisfied he was not waiting in ambush. It was then that I noticed the letter on the ground.

_Dearest Larrius,_

_You may wonder why I sent two assassins (If you can even call those clumsy fools assassins) to greet you to Cyrodiil. Before I tell you, you must first understand what it is that I do. I am in the business of eliminating the unworthy. You may believe that I mean to say I am an assassin. Moreover, while that assumption is correct in a sense, I do not kill for money, instead, I kill for justice._

_You may now be wondering why then, I would be sending assassins to your current place of residence. That is something you must figure out on your own, you must find out why I would want you dead. Why would anyone want to kill Larrius Varro? The Nerevarine, the one who has slain two of the Tribunal, one who has defeated a Daedra lord even. Why would someone want you dead? Ponder that, and while you do, you might want to consider choosing a new place to live. Unless of course you want your new friends to be slaughtered during your fight with the next wave of assassins._

_Doubtless, you have found this note on the ground, instead of on the body of one of my assassins. If you have, then kill the treacherous filth if you get a chance, he will not have the courage to come back and face me._

_I will see you soon enough._

_Signed:_

_The one they call, The Madman._


End file.
